


Family

by Cait_Sidhe



Series: Sora's Found Family [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Destiny Islands (Kingdom Hearts), Family, Friendship, Homophobia, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Mentioned Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts II, Pre-Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Pre-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Pre-Relationship, Protective Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Sora Friendship (Kingdom Hearts), Sexuality Crisis, homophobic parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24243079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe
Summary: A few days after the trio returns from their second adventure, Riku finds Sora sitting on their paopu tree looking uncharacteristically unhappy. Reluctantly, and to Riku's complete shock, Sora admits that his mom kicked him out of the house—permanently. Riku and Sora discuss the reason for that and what to do moving forward.
Relationships: Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Sora's Found Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813543
Comments: 4
Kudos: 135





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> This idea popped up as I was thinking about just what everyone would have been told after they returned at the end of KH2. After all, disappearing for two years and then suddenly returning is a big deal. Like, there must have been plenty of rumors about them before and after they returned, and they probably would have had to make something up because of the whole "World Order" thing, right? So here they just say they ran away, and of course that inspires certain rumors as to why. Sora's mom confronts Sora about one of those rumors, and it doesn't end well for Sora.
> 
> This hints at future SoRikuKai, of which there is a sequel, but can also be read as just SoRiku or just friendship.

Riku frowned as he walked along the beach of the Play Island. In the distance, he could see Sora sitting in the crook of the twisted paopu tree that they and Kairi often sat on, looking away from him out at the sunset. He had one knee bent, foot flat on the trunk, and the other dangling, hands in his lap. Normally, this wouldn’t be a concern, but there seemed to be something off, a slouch in Sora’s shoulders that Riku didn’t typically see—in other words, something was seriously bothering Sora.

Although, Riku couldn’t say that was surprising. He had stopped at Sora’s house before then, only to receive a cold glare from Sora’s mother, a contrite “He’s not here”, and a door in his face. In other words, she had been very angry; seeing as Sora was the only one she lived with, it stood to reason that the two probably had a fight… which itself was odd, especially now. Not only did the two rarely ever fight, but it had only been just under a week since Riku and Sora had returned to the Destiny Islands from the Dark Margin—there had initially been a tiny bit of anger from their families, which was to be expected, but that had soon dissipated into extremely worried, overprotective parents, too many hugs for Riku’s liking, questions by everyone, dissuading rumors, discussions about school, doctor visits, and all the other things that come from a teen disappearing for nearly two years. 

Their official story was that Riku’s wanderlust got the better of him, Sora followed, and then eventually Kairi went to go find them. She had it the easiest, as peoples’ memories from the time the Islands had fallen were fuzzy so no one realized that she had been gone the first time. Unfortunately, despite that they had actually realized the boys had been gone all that time, most likely because they never returned and calendars did exist to show the time gap even if no one could actually remember that year happening. Either way, when the three returned Kairi had only been gone a total of less than a month on their world, which is very different from nearly two whole years. Besides, she had been the one to bring them back, according to their story, so everyone was calling her a hero for doing so.

When Riku finally reached Sora, his frown only deepened. Sora hadn’t reacted at all to Riku’s approach, despite usually being hyper-aware of his surroundings. That was a new development since they’d left the islands—you had to be, after all, when heartless and nobodies could attack at any time. Theoretically they no longer needed to be worried, but the battle instincts were so ingrained by now, even in Kairi, that it had become difficult for them all to not draw their keyblades at every little unexpected sound.

“It’s not like you to mope,” Riku said as he approached.

Sora jumped slightly, though he didn't change his position. He briefly glanced at Riku, then turned back to the sunset. “Hey,” he said, not even bothering to hide behind a fake smile as was typical for him in these situations. Riku could always tell though, so perhaps that was why.

“What’s got you so down?” Riku jumped on the tree to sit.

Sora didn’t reply. He didn’t even move, staying curled in the crook of the tree, looking away, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

“I stopped by your house,” Riku offered. “Did you have a fight with your mom?”

Sora started at that, looking at Riku, a slightly panicked expression on his face. “Why, did she say anything?!”

Riku tried to hide his surprise at the reaction. “No, she just said you weren’t there and shut the door in my face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that angry before.”

Sora sighed, looking back out at the sunset.

“Sora, are you okay?” Riku asked, then mentally berated himself. That was a stupid question; of course he wasn’t.

After a few minutes of silence, while Riku was trying to think of a better question, Sora answered. “No,” he said, almost too quietly for Riku to hear.

Riku blinked in surprise. Sora never admitted that so easily; he preferred to hide behind smiles, tell everyone he was fine, not wanting to worry them. “What—” Riku began.

“Iwaskickedout,” Sora said rapidly, curling into himself even more, now looking at the ground.

“Wait, what?” Riku said, completely baffled. He stared at Sora in shock. Had he heard correctly?

“I was kicked out,” Sora said again, not clarifying further. He sounded angry now; Riku supposed that was better than the initial despondent attitude.

Riku merely looked at Sora with concern, waiting for further explanation. Sora would give it; he always did. He just needed time to gather his thoughts.

Sora huffed and hopped down from the tree, beginning to pace in front of it, punctuating the explanation with angry arm movements. “She kicked me out! Just like that! My mom, of all people, kicked her son out of the house, told me to never return!”

“But… why?” Riku prodded, still completely baffled by this. Sora’s mom was one of the nicest people Riku knew, or so he had thought. Could that much have changed in two years?

Sora took a deep breath, trying to hide his anger, stopping his pacing and staring at the ground. “You know all those rumors that have been floating around town?”

“Which rumors?” There honestly were a lot.

Sora waved his hand horizontally. “You know, those rumors.”

“Sora, there are dozens of rumors floating around..”

Sora sighed, willing himself to calm down more. “Right. I mean, the ones trying to figure out why two boys would run away together. You know, instead of a boy and a girl.”

“Ah, those.”

“Yeah. So, she confronts me about that.” Sora began pacing again in agitation, arms waving around. “I didn’t answer at first, surprised she’d actually give any thought to them—they’re rumors, right?—or even care about that, but then she prodded further, asking if I knew that was wrong and stuff, and I still don’t say anything because I’m still confused, because why would it be? I’ve met people who are gay and they’re totally nice people. So now I’m angry too at this point, and you know how I get when I’m angry, I just say stuff without thinking, so I blurt out ‘why should it matter if I’m gay,’ and she interprets that as some sort of a confession, and then… yeah.”

“Well, are you?” Riku asked, then cringed; again, not the right question to ask, at all.

Sora stopped pacing to glare at Riku. “Why, does it matter?” he said vehemently.

Riku waved his arms in negation. “No, no! Not at all! Sorry, don’t know why that question slipped out, it’s none of my business, sorry!”

Sora sighed in relief. “Sorry, I’m just a bit on edge.” He hopped back onto the tree, sitting on it normally, then looked down at his hands, struggling to make his voice calmer.

Riku shook his head. “Don’t apologize. Anyone would be.”

The two sat in silence for a bit. It wasn’t awkward at all; it was actually quite calming, which was good as Sora needed some time to cool down. They both looked out towards the horizon; the sun was almost fully set now, washing the beach in warm shadow.

Once Sora had fully calmed, he spoke again, voice quiet. “So, about your question earlier…”

“Hmm?” Riku turned to Sora, who was looking at his palms again.

“Well, honestly, I’m not sure,” Sora admitted. “I mean, there wasn’t much time to think about that type of thing since the islands… well you know.” He gestured with his arm.

Riku nodded. “Yeah.”

“Yeah. So, between saving worlds and stuff, there wasn’t much time to think about any of that kind of stuff,” Sora repeated. “Oh, and I was asleep for a whole year, too,” he added as an afterthought.

Riku chuckled at that. “Yeah, figures you’d sleep right through puberty.”

“Hey!” Sora playfully punched Riku on the shoulder, hard enough to slightly jostle him; Sora was a lot stronger than he used to be, yet somehow still didn’t seem to realize it.

The two sat in silence for a bit longer, until Sora spoke. “So, what about you?”

“What about me?” Riku hummed.

“Well, did you think about it?”

“Oh. Well, maybe a little, but not enough to conclude anything,” Riku replied truthfully, though he was fairly certain by now that he was not as straight as he’d thought prior to the Islands falling. At least when it came to Sora. He still needed to think on that a bit more though; he hadn’t actually talked much to Sora in the past few years, after all, despite basically stalking him for a while. 

“Hmmm,” Sora mused. “Do you think Kairi did?”

Riku tilted his head in thought. Had she? Riku had always thought Kairi had a thing for Sora—and that Sora returned those feelings, though after this conversation Riku realized that that clearly had been a misconception, as Sora apparently didn’t even know his sexuality let alone who he had feelings for. But most people had also assumed Sora and Kairi would get together, even his travel companions, so it wasn’t too far-fetched for Riku to assume that too.

“Riku?” Sora prodded.

Riku started. “Sorry, got lost in thought,” he admitted. “Kairi probably did have time to think,” he concluded. “She went to school and everything, and you know how Selphie loves talking about romance.” Riku chuckled. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she forced Kairi to think about it, or even forced her on some dates, at that.” 

Sora laughed at that too, in his typical boisterous manner. “Yeah, wouldn’t put it past her.” He became quiet after that.

After a few minutes of silence, Riku asked, “What are you thinking?”

Sora jumped slightly; clearly he had been completely lost in his thoughts. “Oh. Well, we haven’t seen Selphie since we got back. Or Tidus or Wakka.”

Riku nodded. “True. Maybe we could meet up with them tomorrow?”

Sora became uncharacteristically nervous. “Maybe? I don’t know…”

Riku tilted his head in confusion. “Do you not want to see them?”

Sora sighed, slumping a bit. “Should I? I don’t even know where I’m going to go now. I don’t want to see them again only to leave.”

Riku looked at Sora for a moment, confused, then remembered why Sora had fled to the Play Island in the first place. “Oh. Right,” he said quietly.

“Yeah…” Tears began to form in Sora’s eyes, and he turned away to try to hide them.

“Well, you can stay at my place, if you want. I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind,” Riku suggested.

Sora shook his head. “Riku, I don’t think I even want to stay on the Islands anymore.”

“Sora, you don’t mean that—”

“I do!” Sora turned towards Riku, voice raising in volume, tears now falling uncontrolled. “Riku, nothing is the same! It was naïve to think that we could just come back here and continue where we left off! And, no one knows what we’ve been through, and even if we could tell them they wouldn’t understand! It’s lonely! We’re alone.”

“Come here,” Riku said, opening his arms, and Sora scooted over, embracing Riku and crying into his shoulder, just like they’d done as kids. “Sora, we’re not alone, we’ve got friends and family—”

“Our friends—that is, the ones we’re close to now—aren’t even on this world. Also, did you forget? I don’t have a family anymore! It was always just me and my mom, and now she wants nothing to do with me. She said her son had died two years ago, that she wants nothing to do with the ‘freak of nature’ that returned in his place. Maybe I am.”

Riku rubbed circles on Sora’s back, trying to calm him. “Hey, that’s not true. You’re not a ‘freak of nature’. And you do have a family. You have me, and Kairi, and I’m sure even Donald and Goofy would consider you family now, too, after travelling together so much. Family doesn’t need to be bound by blood.”

Sora’s tears had finally stopped, though his face was still buried in Riku’s shoulder. “It doesn’t?” he mumbled.

“Of course not, silly. Look at Kairi-- she lives with the mayor and his wife. They’re not her birth parents, but you wouldn’t say they’re not her family, would you?”

“No…”

“Then why can’t you make your own family, too?”

Sora was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “I guess I could.”

“Good. Now that that’s cleared up, have you given any thought of where you would go, if not here?”

“Hmmm.” Sora turned so that he leaned against Riku’s side rather than curled against him; Riku shifted so that one arm draped around Sora’s shoulders. Sora stayed quiet for a long while, staring at the now-dark horizon. It wasn’t a bad dark though, Riku thought, with the moon high in the sky—not at all like the dark that had taken their world, the dark that they’d both been trapped in multiple times before. It was actually calming, to be in normal, not-evil (well, maybe evil wasn’t the right word, but it was definitely bad-news) darkness for once. “I’m not sure,” Sora finally replied. “Any suggestions?”

“Well, you have lots of friends in other worlds. Are there any you’d particularly like to stay with?”

“You and Kairi,” Sora said immediately. “Er. But you’re gonna stay here, so…”

Riku scoffed. “You seriously think I’m going to stay here if you’re leaving again?”

Sora looked up at Riku in surprise. “You’d go with me?”

Riku chuckled and squeezed Sora’s shoulder. “Of course. It’s my job to watch over you, you dork.”

Sora nuzzled in closer to Riku, which Riku was surprised was even possible. “You’re the best, Riku.”

Riku blushed. “Thanks. So are you.”

“Yes, yes I am,” Sora grinned cheekily. Riku smiled too, noting the smile was genuine; Sora was finally feeling at least a little bit better.

The two sat in silence for a while longer, before Sora spoke up again. “Radiant Garden.”

“Radiant Garden?” Riku asked.

“Yeah. That’s where I’ll—I mean, we’ll—go. I am an honorary member of the Restoration Committee, you know! Might as well do some work!” Sora turned to Riku, beaming.

Riku laughed jovially. “You, doing work? Well, now I definitely have to go with you; can’t have you sleeping on the job!”

Sora nudged Riku with his shoulder. “Hey, I haven’t done that in years!”

Riku raised an eyebrow.

Sora blushed in embarrassment. “That year doesn’t count,” he mumbled, then he perked up. “You know, Kairi is from there!”

Riku blinked in surprise. “She is?”

“Yeah, she told me while we were waiting to meet with the school principal yesterday. Which was stupid, since I already told them I was gonna drop out. Anyway, remember how no one remembered the actual name of Hollow Bastion until it was restored enough? Well, Kairi remembered the name too! That’s the world she fell from.”

“Huh. Didn’t expect that. Does she remember anything else?” Riku wondered, ignoring the comment about dropping out of school. Previously Riku would have argued with Sora about that, but that didn’t matter now that they were leaving.

Sora shook his head. “No, just the name, and a few fuzzy memories of what it looked like before it fell. Oh, and some nostalgia she couldn’t place when we were at the castle after… you know. Nothing else though.”

Riku considered this. “Well, do you think she’d like to go with us too, then? She always wanted to know more about where she was from.”

Sora nodded, then laughed slightly. “I think she’d want to go with us regardless, don’t you?”

Riku laughed too. “Yeah, definitely. If we tried to leave without her, she’d just follow. Especially since she does have a keyblade now, which I just know she’s been itching to use.”

Sora laughed a bit louder. “Yeah, she’s been asking me to spar with her all week!” Sora frowned then. “But we haven’t had much time to hang out at all, not alone at least. And not with all three of us.”

Riku squeezed Sora’s shoulder slightly and leaned his head against Sora’s. “Hey, after tomorrow, the three of us will be together again, just like old times, right? Location aside.”

“Right!” Sora agreed. “As long as the three of us are together, it doesn’t matter where we are,” he concluded, beaming. “We’re family, after all, right, Riku?”

Riku nodded, grinning too. “Exactly.”

**Author's Note:**

> Though this can be read as a stand-alone, it has a (G-rated) SoRiKai sequel (with more SoRiku overtones than SoKai or RiKai, if that matters to you; I'm so used to writing just these two).


End file.
